It’s time to introduce you to the next adventure we’ve been on: exploring a secret section of the Sierra Nevada mountains in southern Spain, the Alpujarras.
Who’s heard of it? Not that many we’re guessing, like us. It’s a tiny mountain region with a lot of hidden gems: over fifty ancient white villages that cling -cling they do!- to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. (We’ve written another post all about these white villages of the Alpujarras, so read that if you want a complete breakdown.)
Safe to say though these villages and the area is unbelievably atmospheric and fascinating. So we think they’re worth spending some time in any which way, whether that’s driving, bussing or whatever.
But we found the way to walk between the white villages. And there’s something so valuable travelling between them in this way; we got out into the mountains, and really climbed into the life and landscape of this amazing area.
So if that sounds interesting to you, here’s our guide to hiking the Alpujarras:
Start: Lanjarón
Finish: Trevélez (or further)
Distance: 60km
Time (ie s l o w): 6 days
There are a few trails that link the Alpujarras villages, but the one we stuck to was the GR7. It’s a long-distance route that ultimately connects Tarifa (near Gibraltar) to the Cevennes in France, part of the E4 which covers 10,000km across Europe (woah).
The part of the GR-7 that we walked starts around 650m up and goes as high as 1,700m, and really is the most direct route to hike.
First let us say that the walking is stunning, with great views of the Sierra Nevada mountains and the valley below. It’s rugged without being too tough, and every corner brings new vantage points.
And secondly hiking the Alpujarras really does become the best way of seeing and getting a feel for the villages. You enter and leave the villages on different routes and get the most incredible perspectives you just don’t get from the road. You realise how high and tucked away they are, and how difficult they would’ve originally been to get to.
What to know
Getting there
We took the coach from Granada direct to Lanjarón, which took about 90 minutes.
While you’re in the villages there is also a local bus service running between most of the villages we visited, coming and going twice a day. We’ll never forget sitting on the steps of the church in Trevélez eating a baguette waiting for the 6am coach. We were there an antsy half an hour early because the next one was practically a day away. Didn’t matter though – when the coach arrived the driver decided he’d like a coffee and hopped out for forty minutes. Mountain life for you!
Guidebook
We used Cicerone’s GR7 in Andalucia and Walking in Andalucia which gave just about the right amount of direction. One thing we didn’t have -and we’d definitely recommend you do- is a good map as the signposting (see below) is a bit patchy. We’ve had a look around and this one looks pretty good.
Signposting
Not always. The GR-7 has the usual red and white waymarking of everywhere in Europe, but they are a bit sporadic.
Terrain
Lots of zigzagging grassy and stony paths, both muddy and loose in bits. We had to pick our way carefully through parts that had washed away in the winter or become overgrown, but they were only small sections. Between valleys we followed small roads and tracks out onto surprisingly wide, flat high plains which were lovely and easy.
Level of difficulty
Listen, in some ways it was trickier than our other recent walk the coastal Rota Vicentina. Mainly because of unpredictability: the winter had washed away little bits of the path and a couple of rivers had appeared too. There were also steep sections as you head up and down the deep valleys, but that’s more exhausting than hard we’d say.
A famous little section where you cross a dam between Soportújar and Cáñar posed a bit of a challenge for us, the water still being high in March. Definitely still crossable, but no discernible path. Such a dramatic waterfall and bridge though so well worth doing!
Time of year
The Alpujarras is on the south side of the Sierra Nevada so theoretically can be walked for quite a lot of the year as it should be snow-free. We decided we would do it in in March, which turned into a mixed bag. Our first few days was warmed by brilliant sunshine before the weather turned Baltic. Although has to be said the mountains were snowcapped and the forecast snowy, we didn’t walk actually through any snow at all.
Also we noted that even in the summer the weather isn’t roasting – mid to late twenties a lot of the time.
Supplies
There are restaurants and cafes in all of the villages we visited, and you will always find one open. However, if you’re looking for some food to cook beware that there isn’t a supermarket, only mini-markets in these villages. And we got caught out in Pampaneira because it didn’t even have one of those! The restaurants and bars are cheap and delicious though, and seem an integral part of life up there.
What to see
The Poquiera gorge is our highlight with three dramatically tiered villages leading up to the highest peak in mainland Spain, Mulhacén. If you have limited time concentrate on the gorge because the three villages are only about 2km apart from each other, so easy.
Our favourite village was Pampaneira (the lowest of the three villages in the Poquiera gorge). If you have even less time, and just want to see one village, get yourself here. But if you want to find out more about the white villages of the Alpujarras, we’ve written a separate blog post about the six we visited.
Where to stay
There are some campsites, but not as convenient as other walks we’ve done. The best option for us at were the Rural Hostels, simple rooms halfway between a hotel and a hostel. They’re in all the villages and we loved their cosy atmosphere and wooden interiors. (You’ll find a whole range of accommodation options online which cater for pretty much everyone.)
What is there not to love about wild foothill walking by day and ancient village stays by night?
Have you ever visited this part of Spain? Have you ever thought of hiking the Alpujarras? Let us know in the comments!
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We will be in Almeria this coming Easter. Would it be possible to hike part of the GR7, without necessarily doing the entire stretch, if we had 3 or 4 days? Or could it all be done in say 4 days? We would need to get to Malaga to fly home once we are done. Any info would be great. The blog post was very inspiring. Beautiful photographs.
Thank you Debbie! You could definitely hike a decent stretch of the GR7 in 3 or 4 days. From Almeria you could get a bus to Trevelez, and then walk west towards Lanjaron, where you can get to Granada by bus and then onto Malaga airport very easily (or get a taxi from Lanjaron to Malaga Airport). Hope this helps.
Thanks again, Luke
Hi!
Thanks for sharing your very Nice experiences.
We would like to go to into alpujarras region in Mid November. Can you rekommend What part to stay at if We want to Walk daytrips?
Hello Barbro, thank you for getting in touch!
Mid-November will still be good in the Alpujarra. Capileira or Bubion would be good villages to stay in. They have plenty of accommodation, selection of services and offer good walks in all directions. You can get to both villages easily by bus from Granada.
Have a good time!
Luke
Hello Lue and Nell,
Thank you so much for your detailed and inviting description of your walk and villages in Las Alpujarras.
My husband and I are planning to walk in this beautiful region starting September 28 until October 4th.
We are retired, late 60’s , and walking is my favourite and most satisfying way to wander.
So far, this is our itinerary which we modified after some advice from locals who live and walk there.
Start:
Granada – Trevélez Sept 27 bus
Trevélez Sept 27 one night
Trevélez to Pitres Sept 28 *walk to Pitres
Pitres Sept 28-30. 2 nights
Pitres -Capileira Sept 30. *walk to Lanjarón
Capileira Sept 30-Oct 2 2 nights
Capileira-Lanjarón. Oct 2 * bus to Lanjarón
Lanjarón Oct 2-4. 2 nights to enjoy the thermal baths
Lanjarón-Malaga Oct 4 bus
I wanted to walk from village to village the whole time, but was advised to take the bus from Capileira to Lanjarón as the route in this part is not so good.
The extra day in the two villages, we can do small hikes and enjoy village life.
What are your thoughts about this itinerary. We are healthy, in May we walked 200 kilometers from Le Puy en Velay to Conques.
However, we are slow walkers and take our time .
Thank you for any advice you can share and happy travels,
Please keep sharing on your blog!
Christine
Hi Christine,
Thanks for getting in touch.
The itinerary looks really good. The route between Capileira and Lanjaron has been left to its own devices a little, that’s true. So I get the choice to bus round to Lanjaron. When in Capileira, do walk as much as you can in that great valley. Go as high as you feel comfortable, because it gets better and better.
Thanks again, and have a great walk!
Luke & Nell
Hi both,
I really have enjoyed reading your blog about Alpujarras !
We intendend to go there in Mid November. We Will do daily walks in the mountains and between willlages Where do you think it is suitable to stay for this, thinking of the climate that late. Could pampaniera be the place or what do you suggest?
We intend to stay for three nights.
Thanks and best regards,
Barbro
Hello Luke and Nell,
Thank you for the information and wonderful contents.
I’m planing to do a month trek there. Is it safe to go alone? I’m a woman solo traveller here so I’m a little worry.
Thank you for your time.
Have a nice day!
Hi there, thanks for the message!
We would say it is fine to go solo there, village-to-village. The only thing to be careful of is if going in winter some of the trail goes to high elevation and will be covered in snow.
Enjoy!
Luke & Nell
Oh, this is so timely for us as we are planning a trip to Andalusia for October 2020. A walking trip in Alpujarras was something I really want to do so thank you so much for posting this. Now I want to do it even more than before!
How easy would be to find accommodation in the villages without pre-booking? I do not see much available there online but not sure if this is because there are few places only overall or because most of what is available is not posted online at all. Is it a danger of walking up to the village in the afternoon only to find that there is nowhere to stay?
Hi there, thank you for getting in touch, and so glad you’re excited about visiting the area! It’s a great walking destination. I would say booking accommodation is preferable because the villages are not large places with loads of choice. Emailing hotels/hostels is a good idea. We went in March and did this, and got bookings, but also booking.com worked well for us too!
Have a fantastic time,
Luke
Hi Luke and Nell!
I’m so glad to have found your blog. I was just doing some research on places to visit in the Alpujarras, and am so inspired to do some walking after reading your blog. My husband and I will be there the first week of September, and my thought was to use Orgiva as our home base for 3 nights and then do some walking trips during the day. Would it be possible to drive from Orgiva to one of the little villages (possibly Pampaneira), park there and to walk to Capileira and back in a day? Thanks in advance!
Orgiva is in theory a good base, but to be honest with you there are many other much nicer places to be based. Pampaneira or Pitres would be good choices. From Pampaneira you can walk up the valley to Capileira and back easily in a day. You could also walk from Pampaneira over to Pitres for lunch and then back again. And another walk would be to go from Pampaneira to Soportujar for lunch and then back. Hope this helps. It will be lovely in September.
Came across your wonderful post while researching the area — so refreshing to read something updated and with such detail on the hikes and towns, thank you! I’m struggling with choosing between staying in Capileira for three nights vs. the northern facing town of Guejar-Sierra in late March. We have accommodations in both while we decide, but it seems like the vistas of the rockier, more dramatic Sierra Nevada that you see behind Granada would be of greater interest for hiking — did you consider this when you chose to travel to the Alpujarras? I have a feeling we’ll love either experience but since it’s such a once-in-a-lifetime destination (traveling from the US) I’m hoping to make the right choice before we arrive and wish we’d done the latter!
Thank you for the nice comment Nicole – glad we can be helpful! We did wonder about staying on the northern side, but decided to go for the warmer southern side, and we’re glad we did. Late March you will still help some wintry backdrops, but with some warm weather to walk in. It’s really a lovely climate at that time of year. Plus, we thought the Pampaneira Valley was too good to avoid going for a walk around, and we were right – it’s a stunner! Capileira is a great little village. Good luck deciding 🙂
Thanks so much for the quick reply, Luke! Look forward to seeing where you guys head next.
Hi Luke!
Thanks so much for your quick response and your advice. I was thinking of Orgiva as a “base” so that we could go out for dinner/drinks at night. Are there places to do this in Pitres or Pampaneira?
There are more places in Orgiva than Pitres and Pampaneira. Just a thought: have you thought about walking from place-to-place instead of having just one base?
Hi again,
We’ll be traveling with suitcases, not backpacks, so I don’t think we’ll be able to walk between towns. I think we’ll stay in Pitres or Pampaneira. They sound much more charming.